Beauty Parlour the pick as Brant zones in on Wildenstein draft

Classic heroine makes seven figures after battle with Makin

Beauty Parlour: one of many Wildenstein lots sold to White Birch Farm

Sarah Farnsworth/Goffs

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By James Thomas and Aisling Crowe
12:54PM, NOV 19 2016

White Birch Farm set about hoarding the lion's share of the Wildenstein Dispersal mares on offer during the opening session of the Goffs November Sale on Friday, as Peter Brant's operation secured lot after lot from the famed owner-breeder.

The centrepiece of the draft was the 2012 Poule d'Essai des Pouliches winner Beauty Parlour, in foal to Kingman, who went to White Birch for the sale-topping sum of €1.6 million.

A protracted duel broke out between Nick Nugent, bidding on behalf of White Birch, and Paul Makin, who did his best to make his presence felt on his return the Goffs ring where, almost three years to the day, he sold his Irish Oaks winner Chicquita for €6m during the Paulyn Dispersal.

But given the determination shown by White Birch to secure as much of the Wildenstein stock as possible, there was an air of inevitability as the bids for the daughter of Deep Impact crept into seven-figure territory.

The previous evening White Birch had also secured Beauty Parlour's Dansili filly foal for €450,000, and they supplemented those two acquisitions with her Invincible Spirit half-sister, Blue Kimono, at €675,000.

The US operation's other purchases include second-top lot Amerique, a Galileo daughter of three-time Group 1 winner Aquarelliste in foal to Pivotal for €975,000; Altamira, a daughter of the Wildenstein's Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe winner Peintre Celebre in foal to Lope De Vega, for €530,000; Parade Militaire, a nine-year-old daughter of Peintre Celebre in foal to Manduro, for €270,000; and Peinture Rare, a Sadler's Wells half-sister to Peintre Celebre in foal to Dansili, for €410,000.

In total ten lots, including five of the top ten, from the opening session of the November Breeding Stock Sale were signed for by White Birch, for a total of €5,210,000. Such big spending follows hot on the heels of a €980,000 spend by Brandt's operation on five foals from the Wildenstein draft offered the previous evening.

When White Birch's Orby Yearling Sale purchases are added to the equation their total spend on the Wildenstein Dispersal horses comes in at €7,510,000.

North Pacific

Before White Birch sprang into action others had a chance to snap up the Wildenstein Dispersal lots, and the draft got off with a bang as Narvick International snapped up Pacific Rim, a Group 2-winning daughter of Singspiel in foal to Zoffany, for €680,000.

Pacific Rim is a daughter of the Group 3 winner Prairie Runner and a half-sister to Prairie Star, the winner of the Group 2 Prix Hocquart.

"She's been bought for Northern Farm and will travel to Japan after she foals in the spring," revealed Ricki Takahashi, speaking on behalf of Katsumi Yoshida's operation. "Hopefully she will be covered by Deep Impact. It was an expensive price and I bid on another mare earlier but failed to buy her.

"She has a very good temperament and we have a good connection - she likes me and I like her! Singspiel works very well in Japan and he's an old friend of mine from my time working with Darley. Pacific Rim reminded me of him, there is a lot of Singspiel about her."

Typique hits a peak

For much of the day Typique, a three-year-old daughter of Galileo, headed trade, with Laurent Benoit of Broadhurst Agency signing the ticket at €450,000.

Benoit was tight-lipped when asked about plans for Typique, but speculated that she could head to the US. That was the ultimate destination of her older sister Mohini, who realised €270,000 at this sale last year to De Burgh Equine.

She was then covered by American Pharoah and sent to the Keeneland November Sale, where she was bought back last week for $525,000.

The Niarchos-bred Typique is out of champion two-year-old Denebola, a Storm Cat daughter of another champion juvenile in Coup De Genie.

Godolphin goldmine

The first day of the Goffs Breeding Stock sale was adorned with some of the jewels from Godolphin's impeccably bred collection of mares and fillies, with 72 offered by the concern.

The crown for most expensive filly was worn by Mrs King, a daughter of Darley's kingpin sire Dubawi, bought on behalf of Maurice Regan of Newtown Anner Stud by Eamon Reilly of BBA Ireland for €350,000.

A three-year-old daughter of multiple Grade 1-placed and Grade 2-winning mare Coretta, the Darley homebred was trained by Jim Bolger to win a 7f maiden, and will now move to Dermot Weld's Curragh yard to continue her racing career.

Plans for her future include a date with Regan's Fascinating Rock, who has been retired to Ballylinch Stud.

Regan is determined to do all he can to ensure that the dual Group 1 winner has a successful second career and this was the third mare he bought during the session to support Fascinating Rock.

"We'll keep her in training with the aim of gaining black type and then she will visit Fascinating Rock," said Regan. "We bought four mares in Keeneland and we will be looking for more here and in Newmarket. We will do all we can to support him."

Reilly also went to €230,000 on behalf of Regan for Evening Rain, a daughter of Raven's Pass believed to be in foal to Siyouni.

"We'll have eight or ten of our own mares going to Fascinating Rock," explained Regan.

"We're going to send him mares with a bit of speed and precocity and hopefully he'll be a very good sire. We've had loads of interest in him already, particularly from people in Britain.

"Some very powerful people have already bought shares in him too."

Grant Pritchard-Gordon bought the early highlight from the Godolphin draft, paying €300,000 for Shrill, a daughter of Shamardal from the family of Miesque. The three-year-old is a half-sister to Silkwood, winner of the Ribblesdale Stakes, and Cherry Hinton Stakes winner Silent Honor.

Shrill has won twice for trainer Willie McCreery and was third in the Listed Excelebration Stakes last year. She too will initially continue her racing career before a likely date with the most famous horse in the world next summer.

"I bought her on behalf of an Australian client," said Pritchard-Gordon. "She will remain in Europe, most likely England, to race before being covered to southern hemisphere time. Frankel is a very strong possibility.

"Her two half-sisters are both Group 2 winners and she only has to improve a couple of lengths to win some more black type herself."

Foley is Maid up

Joe Foley was one of the happiest people at the sales on Friday having secured a mare of whom he was a huge fan when she raced, parting with €85,000 for Coronation Stakes heroine Maid's Causeway.

"She was one of my favourite racehorses - a really tough, brave filly - and by one of my favourite broodmare sires in Giant's Causeway. I've been trying to buy a daughter of his for a long time and now I have Maid's Causeway!

"I have a suspicion she will be visiting Dandy Man in the spring," said Foley, who stands the son of Mozart at his Ballyhane Stud.

Maid's Causeway is the dam of four winners and is in foal to Dark Angel.

FIRST PUBLISHED 12:53PM, NOV 19 2016

We're going to send Fascinating Rock mares with a bit of speed and precocity and hopefully he'll be a very good sire